
Today, Qatar Airways Cargo begins its new route to Guangzhou, China. The dedicated route employs an A330 freighter flying three times per week from the carrier’s Doha (DOH) hub to Guangzhou Baiyun International (CAN).The carrier’s parent company, Qatar Airways, recently took delivery of the first of five A330-200 freighters it had ordered from Airbus. Qatar already has three A330-200Fs in its fleet, on lease from BOC Aviation, along with seven 777Fs, plus one more 777F on order.
- Though plagued with pilots’ strikes for much of this year, German carrier Lufthansa is beginning to celebrate the upcoming 20th anniversary of its airfreight subsidiary, Lufthansa Cargo, which began operating as an independent business from Deutsche Lufthansa AG in January 1995. Starting with a fleet of five DC-8Fs, ten 747-200Fs and two 737Fs, Lufthansa Cargo has leased out most of its older fleet and now flies fifteen MD-11Fs and four new 777Fs, with one more on order.
- Luxembourg-based Cargolux will add a stop in Puerto Rico to its route schedule, beginning in the winter 2014/15 season. Cargolux will fly to Luis Munoz Marin International (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on the return leg of its weekly 747F service from Luxembourg (LUX) to Atlanta (ATL). The carrier also had its best October in its history. During the month, Cargolux operated 1,672 flights, totaling 9,379 block hours, with total tonnage up 6.7 percent, year-over-year, and commercial net revenues up 9.9 percent.
- Nippon Express Co., Japan’s largest international freight forwarder, said on Dec. 1, that it had acquired a 51 percent controlling stake in Nittsu NEC Logistics Ltd., its joint venture with electronics maker NEC Corp. Nippon Express (commonly known as “Nittsu” in Japan) formed the alliance with NEC in March 2013. In Monday’s agreement, Nippon Express made the Nittsu NEC Logistics joint venture its own subsidiary, based in Kawasaki City, just outside Tokyo. Nittsu NEC Logistics employs 2,300 people and reported group sales of US$520 million in fiscal 2013, which ended in March 2014.
- Universal Cargo has joined global freight management network The WACO System. Based in Mexico City, Universal Cargo has branches in Guadalajara, Merida, and Monterrey, Mexico, offering a range of freight logistics services. Founded in 1973, WACO has a community of 99 members in 96 countries with a combined network of more than 400 locations.
- Azerbaijan-based Silk Way West Airlines received a foreign air carrier permit from the U.S. Department of Transportation, allowing it to launch scheduled freighter service between its Baku hub and New York (JFK), and to operate charter service between any point or points in Azerbaijan and any point or points in the U.S. Silk Way operates two 747-8Fs, three 747-400Fs and two 767-300Fs.
- Florida-based all-cargo startup Western Global Airlines launched scheduled service operations with a four weekly MD-11F flights from Miami to Caracas, Venezuela (CCS), and Santiago, Chile (SCL). Western Global has five MD-11Fs, all leased from Neff Air.
- Slovakian all-freight carrier AirCargoGlobal (ACG) has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to obtain foreign-carrier traffic rights. Should the rights be granted in the next two to six months, ACG said it plans to begin twice-weekly 747-400 freighter service from its hubs at M.R. Štefánik Airport (BTS) in Bratislava and Frankfurt-Hahn (FRA) in Germany to New York City (JFK) and Chicago (ORD). ACG, formed from the ashes of AirCargoGermany, currently operates two leased 747-400 freighters.
- After a successful six-month trial, UK-based Virgin Atlantic Cargo has launched a service allowing customers to book freight shipments from any location online. The e-booking service uses Unisys’ Cargo Portal Services (CPS) technology, which also allows shippers and forwarders to track parcels on a 24-hour basis throughout the supply chain, including truck routes.
- Airline outsourcing firm ECS Group has purchased Scandinavian cargo general sales and services agent (GSSA) Heavyweight Freight (HWF). HWF employs 23 people at offices in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, selling around 20,000 tonnes of freight capacity in 2013 on behalf of its airline partners, including Air Canada, Centurion Cargo, DHL Aviation, Saudi, Virgin Atlantic and Singapore Airlines.